Ma'amar HaGeulah (The Visitation, Ch. 3)

Ma'amar HaGeulah

-- "The Great Redemption", a reworking of Ramchal's "Ma'amar HaGeulah"

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org

__________________________________________________

"The Great Redemption"

The Visitation: Ch. 3

Recall that the exile is the consequence of a sort of cosmic "disconnect" (see The Visitation, Ch. 1). And as a consequence of it, the highest reaches of G-dliness became disconnected from the lower ones, and there came to be a breakdown in the workings of the magnificent and teeming cosmic waterfall that is the source of all life, power, and sustenance.

And while there'd been an orderly, elegant, rhythmic, and broad rush of water downward along the steps of this waterfall, the interlacing steps suddenly went off-kilter in the course of the exile as they started to disconnect. And the water began to plummet down chaotically. But what had been disconnected and had run amok in the exile will be reconnected and set in order in the course of the great redemption.

So we're told here that after the Shechina will have arisen from the dust in the previous stage of The Visitation, there'll come a point when "Chochma's light" will begin to flow downward (see para. 17), without which nothing more could be done (see para. 13).

Now, recall that Chochma is a very exalted level of illumination; in fact, it's the second highest of the ten, as we indicated. Thus the downpouring of its light will be a very significant event.

But the flow of Chochma's light is likened to a slow, unctuous drip of myrrh (an exotic aromatic gum resin). Thus it will descend slowly, but it will eventually and surely touch upon the sephira of Yesod, which is the next-to-last one and is related to the coming of the Moshiach. And that will allow for the next stage.


(c) 2006 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"